WHO ARE WE?

TNRD LIBRARY WINDOWS

This collection of images and written contributions is a Kamloops Art Gallery initiative to capture a visual representation of the cultural diversity that exists in BC and in the Thompson Nicola Regional District. The KAG asked people in the region to submit photos and text to represent a diverse perspective on who we are. The project is a means to break down barriers, change preconceptions and share a commonality that we are all residents of this region.

The population of this area is predominantly comprised of individuals who identify as Caucasian (BC Statistics, 2011). This project is specifically aimed at individuals who identify as First Nations/Aboriginal and with other minority populations in the region which include (but is not limited to) people whose first language is Punjabi, Mandarin, Cantonese, Arabic, Korean, Russian, German, Italian or Spanish. The purpose of the project is to engage individuals who are less visually prominent in our community and encourage them to submit photographs of themselves that represent how they identify themselves culturally. We asked people to include a short write up to further explain the intent of the photograph and why they chose to represent themselves in the way they did.

The collected content is now being shared as part of Luminocity on the downtown, street-level windows of the TNRD Library and will subsequently be included more permanently on the windows of the Kamloops Art Gallery’s Tricia Sellmer and Ken Lepin studios.

This visual representation emphasizes that we are not alone in our differences and that in spite of our differences visually, we are all citizens of this region and add to the cultural richness here. This richness makes our region an interesting and engaging place in which to live and work.

This project is supported by a BC Community Gaming Grant

Photos: Devon Lindsay